Brian Witmer: NLL Combine First-Person Experience

This weekend the National Lacrosse League held its annual combine at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario. A little more than a month back, a link advertising this combine came across my Twitter feed and I gave it a look.

The deal was, that for a mere hundred dollars you could participate in the combine and have your abilities as an athlete and lacrosse player tested professionally and be seen by scouts representing every team in the league. I signed up that night.??

Fast forward 90 days, scores of miles hitting the pavement, and virtually all of those 90 days in a weight room, and we come to the combine. Also entering the draft were three other teammates that played Senior B with me in the Can-Am this past season. After a couple hundred miles and a strange detention at the border, we all met at the Rock's practice facility.

??Upon arrival, we checked in, signed waivers, and each received a combine shirt, jersey, and NLL-embroidered pair of Under Armor Charge gloves via Team 22. Right after this mini-Christmas we checked in with Sport Testing, the company tasked with measuring and evaluating the physical abilities of each prospect. This company was nothing short of professional grade. You were designated with a number that corresponded to a wristband with a chip that automatically recorded and reported your scores to a computer, which then instantly relayed the results to two fifty-inch monitors in the bleachers.??The tests encompassed everything an athlete could/should be measured on and were also very sport specific to lacrosse.

In addition to the vertical jump, no-brainer shot speed and the brutal 300-meter shuttle, there were also tests gauging reaction time, dodging/weaving skills, as well as ability to shuffle laterally with speed. Instead of a stereotypical bench pressing pissing contest (which would not have boded well for me), the chest strength of each prospect was measured with a medicine ball toss test. To eliminate the legs from the equation, you sat on the floor and keeping your back/shoulders/head against the boards you pushed the medicine ball as far as you could and that distance was measured against all other prospects.??

The lacrosse specific tests were new to me. The shot speed was a variation, because you didn't just stand there and rip the rock (which WOULD have boded well for me). You picked the ball up, drove up about ten yards from GLE and then had to set your feet and let the thing go as hard as you could. THEN, you had to immediately turn and sprint to the midline, and that time was measured as shot speed vs. speed recovery.

The reaction test was awesome. You started from point A, ran to pick up the ball five yards ahead of you, and then you had to look up. If you saw the red light flash, you had to sprint around a flag that was five yards ahead, five yards to the right (basically turn at a 45-degree angle instantly). If it was green, you had to go left. I thought that was unique and I have never seen that one before.?? That was day one.

The next day we were scheduled for a 90-minute practice session, followed by lunch, and then a five-quarter scrimmage in front of at least two dozen coaches, scouts and owners encompassing the entire professional league. In the morning before the practice, interviews were scheduled for a dozen or so players with teams that wanted to get to know a little more qualitative information on their prospective draft picks. The practice session was facilitated by Toronto's head coach John Lovell, as well as assistant coaches Blaine Manning and Dan Ladoceur.

After going through brief stretching, we progressively worked through 1 on 0's with the goalie, to 2v1, 2v2, 3v2 and 3v3s all up and down the floor. Goalies saw a ton of shots and players saw a ton of reps. Considering that 90 percent of these players had never played with each other, I thought it was actually a very productive practice.??

Then it was lunch, an impressive spread, but that's really neither here nor there. Well, I was introduced to Booster Juice, and I fell in love, so there's that.??

Now it was game time. This was what everyone wanted to see. White and Blue took to their respective benches exactly at 2 p.m., and the players strapped up for the battle that had the potential to launch them into the National Lacrosse League. Think about that, how hard do you think players go, knowing that the dream they've had since they were probably six or seven years old, could be granted if they played well enough in this game?

The answer is pretty freakin' hard to say the least. Sticks hit bodies, bodies hit bodies and bodies hit the floor. I've played a lot of lacrosse, and this was up there as the most competitive and skilled game I've ever been a part of. The intensity brought huge off ball cross checks, extra curricular activities behind the play, and even a pretty good fight.??The contact and physicality was only bested by the level of lacrosse skill displayed. Wild one handed pickups, hook-line-sinker fakes, bullet BTB passes, and just the flashiest fake-and-finish offense you could imagine.

Actually, you didn't have to imagine it, and still don't. The game was broadcast live via YouTube and is still available. I watched a little this morning. Seeing yourself crunched into the boards really puts the "Why am I walking like I need a hip replacement" question to bed. You can spot yours truly wearing 21 in Blue heading into the boards quite often.??

The White squad went up to a lead of 7-1 in the 2nd quarter, but a Blue team run would eventually bring the game as close as 11-10, though we were never quite able to take the lead. Finishing up with a final of 16-12, the game was nothing short of a battle.

??I don't like speaking for other people, because I don't like other people speaking for me, but I think it's safe to say that the guys who played, left it all out on the floor. Sweat, blood from some, the majority of the skin from my left knee — we laid it all on the line in hopes of hearing our names come up in the draft Monday night.

??In summation, this combine was run with the highest professionalism and efficiency that the NLL is known for. I loved every minute of it, and I know I wasn't alone. Guys came from far and wide to test their mettle against premier players and potential NLL Rookies and it was a one of a kind experience... until next year.